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Garment exports lifted the country to new heights. But overreliance on that industry also helped bring down Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Aug. 10, 2024, 12:01 a.m. ET
Not long ago, Bangladesh was hailed as an economic miracle. Its singular focus on exporting textiles and apparel delivered rapid growth, lifting millions out of poverty and winning the country’s prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, fame and admiration.
But Ms. Hasina’s abrupt exit from power this week has exposed the limitations of that strategy, as Bangladesh struggles to combat steep inflation and joblessness that economists say are largely the result of poor policy decisions. Her increasingly authoritarian rule and Bangladesh’s widespread corruption only added to the frustration that boiled over and forced her ouster.
Now, Bangladesh must decide its future.
Student protesters who had called for Ms. Hasina’s resignation have brought in Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel laureate and microfinance pioneer, to oversee an interim government. Mr. Yunus faces a daunting task.
Most immediately, the country must restore order and stabilize its economy. In the longer term, Bangladesh will have to confront the wider economic stresses that had sent the protesters into the streets in the first place. All of that must happen on top of urgent demands to address the widespread abuses of Ms. Hasina’s repressive tenure.
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It is unclear how long the interim government will remain in place and how broad a mandate it will assume. But it and Mr. Yunus have the “aspirations of many entrusted upon them to deliver justice, create a functional economy and democracy, and establish rule of law and a transparent and accountable government,” said Saad Hammadi, a fellow at the Balsillie School of International Affairs in Canada.
English (US) · 